Sermon:
January 4,1998

Scripture:
Matthew 16:13-17

"Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God."

And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven."

Let us pray: Take my lips and speak through them. Take our thoughts and think through them. Take our hearts and set them on fire with love for you. Unless you speak, nothing of significance will be spoken. Bring us your word, Lord Jesus. Amen.

It was a typical youth Sunday school class, just three weeks ago in the Youth Center. I would ask a question and the 40 or so youth would move to one of the four corners of the room under a sign: Strongly Agree/Agree/Disagree/Strongly Disagree. The lesson was about Timothy, and being an example for others. As you listen to some of the questions we shared, ask yourself: "Where would I stand?"

Question 1: The world has a right to judge whether or not there is a God by the way we live our lives.

(A close split between agree and disagree. God is beyond how we live our lives, but we influence their view of God in major ways.)

Question 2: Your words have more impact than your actions.

(A vast majority agreed.)

Question 3: The problem with Christians today is we don't live what we talk.

(The vast majority agreed with the statement, until a youth named Jeff, who was standing by himself under the "Disagree" sign, said these prophetic words: "I disagree that the problem today is we don't live what we talk. I think the problem with Christians today is that we don't even talk. We don't have anything to say, so there's nothing to disagree with. The world has no idea what we believe. I think the problem today is we don't talk about Christ or our faith at all during the week, so we don't have to live up to anything." Wow. There's a prophet in our midst!)

What if someone asked you today, "Who is Jesus Christ?" What would you say?

If you go by opinions or polls, you could have grounds to say about anything, but Christianity is not a democracy. You can't vote on truth. Truth is truth, no matter what the majority decides or doesn't decide.

Jesus, in this passage, was polling his disciples about their personal faith. Was he getting through? He wanted to know. He asked two questions: "Who do people say that I am?" And "Who do YOU say that I am?" He got the variety of opinions which people held concerning Jesus: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah. In the first century Jewish mindset, their repli3es were all flattering. John the Baptist was the predicted forerunner of the Messiah. Elijah was to precede the day of the Lord. Jeremiah was expected by some to appear and restore the ark he had supposedly hidden. Jesus' teachings were similar to theirs. All of those answers were, indeed, wrong. Jesus wanted to get those out of the way so he could get to the real question. He asked his disciples, "But what about you? Who do you say that I am?"

Here is where we hear Peter's now-famous words, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." The word "Christ" is the New Testament equivalent of the Old Testament "Masshiah," which means "the Anointed One." It wasn't until decades after his death and resurrection that "Christ" became part of the name of Jesus: Jesus Christ - the Deliverer, the Anointed One. Anointing was part of the ritual of commissioning a person for a special task. In the Old Testament, it was used to describe kings, priests and, most notably, King David. Then the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and Micah made clear that the Messiah is more than a human being; he is God. In him are fulfilled all the promises of God to the nation of Israel. Peter thus recognized Jesus' deity as the Son of the Living God. Peter and the other disciples had come to this conclusion as they watched and lived with Jesus over a period of time, witnessed his actions, his miracles and his words.

Peter was not just blurting out his best guess. He was responding out of studying and faithfully following and listening to Jesus. It was radical revelation, because Peter was Jewish and the Jews were looking for a political messiah, a king who would defeat the Romans and provide for the physical needs of the Israelites. Peter and the other disciples were beginning to see that Jesus' kingdom was not political but spiritual. Jesus was the "suffering servant," a crucified deliverer, setting his people free from sin and death. This is God's message: "God has sought us out, to free us from sin and death, that we might be in relationship with God."

Jesus embodies the whole of the message of God. When you read the whole Bible, you see God calling humanity to himself. When you read the gospels, you see that Jesus calls people-not to a religion, a creed or a social institution, not to a cause, or a program-but to himself. He asks us again today, "Who do YOU say that I am?" Let us examine who Jesus is by first looking at three things Jesus is not.

1. Jesus is not just a baby in a manger.

2. Jesus is not just a great moral teacher.

3. Jesus is not just one way to God.

First, Jesus is not just a baby in a manger. A pastor in London overheard a woman on a bus say, as the bus passed a church with a manger outside: "O Lord! They bring religion into everything. Look-they're dragging it even into Christmas now!" We love Christmas. We love little babies. They give us hope. They remind us of what's good in the world. But Jesus is more than just the "spiritual" face of Christmas. At this moment, Jesus is not just a holiday remembrance, Jesus is at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, in the seat of power, judging the world, crowned in glory.

By keeping Jesus as a baby in a manger, we miss out on who Jesus is. We tame him to be this cooing, little, mild, sleeping child. Don't get me wrong. It is good to remember the Nativity, but only in light of who Jesus is now. The Christmas story would be nothing without Good Friday and Easter. The Hallelujah Chorus isn't even in the Christmas portion of the Messiah! We insert it, not to remind us of the birth, but to remind us of the resurrection! Like the haunting song by Michael English:

Mary did you know....that your baby boy would one day walk on water?

....that your baby boy, would save our sons and daughters?

....that your baby boy, has come to make you new?

And this child that you delivered, would soon deliver you?

....That this sleeping little baby is heaven's perfect lamb,

and this child that you are holding is the great I AM?

That's the mystery of Christmas. But remember, Jesus left the manger, and so should we. Who do you say that I am? Jesus is not just a baby in a manger. Jesus is not just the "Spirit of Christmas, or giving, or goodness in all humankind." He is much more than that.

Second, Jesus is not just a moral teacher. The idea of "popular Christianity" is that Jesus Christ was a great moral teacher, and if we would just take his advice we'd be able to establish a better social order and avoid war. Now, I believe that to be true. But it tells you much less than the whole truth about Christianity, and it lacks power to change anything. You know, there's been no lack of advice for the last 4000 years. A bit more makes no difference.

Jesus was never regarded as a mere moral teacher. He did not produce that effect on any of the people who actually met him. He produced mainly three effects: hatred, terror or adoration. There was no trace of people expressing mild approval. Can you imagine his followers? (pattering of applause) "Oh yes, Jesus. That is a great truth! Well done! He was blind and you cured him! Marvelous!"

Isn't the popular opinion about Christianity that Jesus was a great human teacher who was deified by his superstitious followers? That the gospel writers just embellished some facts about his life, and added a few miracles here and there, created a mystery about his death, and claimed resurrection?

C.S. Lewis writes in his book Mere Christianity:

On one side, clear, definite moral teaching. On the other, claims which, if not true, are those of a megalomaniac, compared with whom Hitler was the most sane and humble of men. There is no half-way house. ...Jesus told people their sins were forgiven... This makes sense only if He really was the God whose laws are broken and whose love is wounded ever in sin.

...I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: "I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God." That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic, on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg, or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.

Was he a liar, a lunatic, or Lord? To say Jesus was just a great moral teacher is to avoid the basic record of his teachings. Jesus asks: "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus is not just a great moral teacher. He is much more than that.

Third, Jesus is not just one way to God. When Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God," he was saying, "you are THE Christ, the Son of the Living God," the definite article "the" marking him out as unique.

There is no parallel in other religions. If you had gone to Buddha and asked him, "Are you the son of Bramah?" he would have said: "My child, you are still in the vale of illusion." If you had gone to Socrates and asked, "Are you Zeus?" he would have laughed at you. If you had gone to Mohammed and asked, "Are you Allah?" he would first have rent his clothes and then cut your head off. If you had asked Confucius, "Are you Heaven?" I think he would have probably replied, "Remarks which are not in accordance with nature are in bad taste."

It seems to me that other religions try to elevate humans to the divine; either by meditation, or the Law, or simply eliminating desire, or rituals, or other such methods. Christianity does just the opposite. Christianity says: "There is simply too great a gulf between God and people." We cannot elevate ourselves. We cannot purify ourselves enough. God had to come to us, in all our humanity, good and bad, and show us the way; and the way is faith in Christ. That is why Christianity seems to honest to me. God knows we can't do it ourselves! We can give up trying to work our way to God and realize God found us, in our shame, in our lostness, in our self-absorbed frame of mind. We can give up trying to be innocent and we can start acting forgiven. Jesus came to show us the way of forgiveness. He says: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me." (John 14:6)

For all we know, Jesus Christ is God's only provision for our sin. Let me say that again. For all we know, Jesus Christ is God's only provision for our sin. "God made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in him." (2Cor. 5:21) "God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." "Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Rom. 5:1) "By this will we have been set apart and made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (Heb. 10:10) "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

We have a hard time with sin, and thus the need for a savior. Through our classrooms and our American mindset, we have been taught to think of the world as something that grows slowly towards perfection, something that "progresses" or "evolves." We tend to believe that with enough information, we will simply be able to make the right choice. (Yeah, right.) I wish that were true. The question is not, "Can someone lead a good life without Christianity?" The question is, "Can I?" Let me repeat that. The question is not, "Can someone lead a good life without Christianity?" The question is, "Can I?" Yes, there have been good men and women who had never heard of Jesus. If Christianity is true, these people were in a state of honest error. But the person who asks, "Can't I lead a good life without Christianity?" is clearly not in the same position. That person is in a mode of avoidance, deliberately trying to "not be bothered." What if God wants to do something in my life and I would have to change?

That is why we need Christ. Only Christ moves us from a self-centered quest for innocence to a quest for forgiveness. And forgiveness is powerful stuff. It had to be God. He had to be human. As far as we know, we don't have other options. Jesus asks: "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus is not just one way to God among many. He gives us much more than "an option."

Let me ask it again: Who do you say that Jesus is? He is more than the spirit of giving and joy and Christmas. He is more than a moral human teacher. He is more than an option we have to know God. If Jesus Christ is who he says he is, what do we do about it?

Do we give him our "spirituality?" Do we give him our time "on Sundays only?" Do we give him our worship and service "when it's convenient?" No. We give him much more than that. We make him our Lord, our Master. We give him our lives. We give him ourselves. We give him our all. Either Jesus is Lord of all, or he's not Lord at all.

If you have never given Jesus lordship in your life, you can do it right now. Simply praying for him to come into your life, forgive your sins, and rule in your life as Lord, is all it is. Prayer is simply talking to God in your own words.

Maybe you've accepted Jesus into your life before, but you need to recommit your life at the beginning of this year. Something else became top priority. As you pray for Jesus Christ to be Lord of your life again, reflect on what distracted you. What got between you and Christ? An attitude, situation or self-pleasures became number one for you. Pray for God in his strength to help you deal with it.

Maybe you are still struggling with who Jesus is. What is it that is keeping you from making this decision? Pray for Christ to continue to make himself known to you. Pray to continue to be open to him, as you move on your journey.

Whatever you need to pray right now, we have time. Let us pray... O Lord, you have asked us again this morning, "Who do you say that I am?" You know us. You love us. Hear us now as we respond in silence for ourselves....

Amen.